Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 2
The second week of the 2019-2020 Premier League season saw:
25 goals - most by Norwich = 3
262 shots - most by Man City = 30
88 on target - most by Man City = 10
129 corners - most by Man City = 13
44 offsides - most by Arsenal/Aston Villa = 5 each
363 tackles - most by Watford = 34
219 fouls - most by Wolves = 17
29 bookings - most by WAT/NEW/SHU = 3 each
0 red cards
2 penalties - 1 scored (King for Bournemouth)
VAR Stats
Average 6 checks per game
3 overturned decisions
3 disallowed goals (Arsenal, Brighton and Man City)
VAR denied Raheem Sterling a last-second winner! Cruel but correct. Hand ball is hand ball, the (not really) new rule book says. Pep Guardiola was gutted of course, pointing out the deja vue of last season’s Champions League quarter-final drama between the same two sides. The boss' bust-up with scorer and star-man Sergio Agüero on the sideline didn't help polish the match report either. And more than ever, it just showed once again, something I always preach, NEVER LEAVE A GAME EARLY!!! No matter how much you dominate, it’s only the scoreboard that counts!!! Brighton's opening goal was also reviewed and disallowed for offside. Oh so close, but rightly so. That's what VAR was introduced for, no? To make sure goals ARE goals. Or not.
Liverpool made it 11 consecutive league wins as their record run continued at Southampton, having not dropped a point since March 3. Replacement keeper Adrián's late blunder was a nightmare goal to concede, a present for former Red Danny Ings (83'), but Sadio Mané’s opener was just top class (45'+1')! The Senegalese forward turned from scorer to provider as Roberto Firmino produced a fine finish to double the Reds' lead (71') before their keeper's giveaway spoiled the show, ever so slightly. Still, three points and a 100% start is the main thing for Jürgen Klopp and his men.
It's the first time since 2009-10 that Arsenal have won their opening two league games, beating a fighting Burnley side 2-1 at the Emirates. However, Sean Dyche lauded his side's mentality, his side recording more shots than the home side, and was not impressed and complained about all the diving and whining, and I couldn’t agree more! It's not just the Gunners, but especially with replays available, all the drama queens just look more and more ridiculous! But they still keep on falling as long as they get some advantage and calls their way. Annoying but true. The refs need to toughen them up and punish them more for their acts, especially when it's obvious in the replays!
Teemu Pukki's first hat-trick for Norwich is also a first in 26 years for the club in the top-tier. All three goals were superb finishes, including the cracking opener, downing a miserable Newcastle side at Carrow Road. But, as mentioned above, Mané’s stunner gets my top vote (of course)! Leicester's equaliser at Chelsea, Wilfred Ndidi's banging header, is worth a shout-out as well! Aston Villa shot themselves in the foot straight away, conceding a penalty after 26 seconds, giving the home side no chance for the rest of the race against Bournemouth. What a wonder goal it was to make it 2-1 though! Worth nothing in the end, but just in awe!
And last but definitely not least, on Monday Night Football, Paul Pogba's penalty flop cost Manchester United at bogey team Wolves, the first team to come from behind and avoid defeat in three consecutive Premier League games against United. Why oh why did the number 6 take it?! Marcus Rashford is the usual and most reliable taker! Talk afterwards was all about the racist abuse the Frenchman received on Twitter. I always report and block anything repulsive like that straight away. But, on another note, isn’t it funny how racist insults against a Red Devil gets all the attention and condemnation, suddenly there's all sorts of shout-outs and meetings, but a certain Red Egyptian and plenty of other players have had to deal with it for years, but nothing happened. A fine distraction from a weak display and result, me thinks.
My Predictions - Actual Results
Arsenal 3:1 Burnley - 2:1
Aston Villa 2:2 Bournemouth - 1:2
Brighton 2:0 West Ham - 1:1
Everton 2:1 Watford - 1:0
Norwich 3:2 Newcastle - 3:1
Southampton 0:3 Liverpool - 1:2
Man City 3:1 Tottenham - 2:2
Sheff Utd 1:1 Crystal Palace - 1:0
Chelsea 1:1 Leicester - 1:1
All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, PL app, Sky Sports News and RMC Sport live coverage.
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